Missouri
is a good state for rockhounding. Missouri
is famous for its historic lead and zinc mines.
In addition, Missouri has been
known as the "Cave State" for many years. Although Missouri is now second in the nation
to Tennessee in total number of caves with nearly 6,000 located wild caves, the
state has more show caves open to the public than any other state. Karst, or
the sort of landscape riddled with caves, springs, sinkholes, natural tunnels,
and bridges comprises about sixty percent of the state's land surface, much of
it south of the Missouri River.
Approximately two dozen meteorites have been found in Missouri.

State
Rocks, Gemstones, Minerals, Fossils, & Dinosaurs

Rockhounding Tip: Knowing state rocks, gemstones, minerals,
fossils, and dinosaurs often can be very useful information for
rockhounders. Ordinarily, states with
significant mineral deposits, valuable gemstones, fossils, or unusual or
significant rock occurrences will designate an official state mineral, rock/stone,
gemstone, fossil, or dinosaur to promote interest in the state’s natural resources,
history, tourism, etc. Accordingly, such
state symbols often are a valuable clue as to potential worthwhile rockhounding
opportunities.

Mozarkite

State Rock: Mozarkite (1967)Missouri
designated mozarkite as its official state rock in 1967. Mozarkite is a fine-grained chert. Typically,
its colors are different hues of red, pink and purple with varying tints of
gray, green, and brown. Cutting
and polishing into ornamental shapes for jewelry enhance the rock’s beauty. Mozarkite is most commonly found near Lake of
the Ozarks. Two early fanciers of the
rock, Phillip Widel and Linville Harms, coined the name mozarkite in the 1950s.
They formed the name from "mo"
for Missouri and "zark" for the Ozark Mountains in Benton County,
Missouri. The main source of mozarkite,
is at the edge of the Ozark foothills. Before
the coinage of this name, the rock was called "Missouri agate."

Galena from Sweetwater Mine, Reynolds County, Missouri

State Mineral: Galena (1967)Missouri designated galena as its
official mineral in 1967. Galena is the
major source of lead ore, and the recognition of this mineral by the state
legislature was to emphasize Missouri's status as the nation's top producer of
lead. Galena is dark gray in color and breaks
into small cubes. Galena was first reported in the late 1600s and mining began in
1720 at Mine La Motte. Mining of galena
has flourished in the Joplin-Granby area of southwest Missouri, and rich
deposits have been located in such places as Crawford, Washington, Iron, and
Reynolds counties.

Crinoid

State Fossil: Delocrinus missouriensis (Crinoid) (1989)Missouri designated the crinoid
(Delocrinus missouriensis) as its official state fossil in 1989. The fossil is a mineralization of an animal
that, because of its plant-like appearance, was called the "sea
lily." Crinoids lived in ocean
shelf environments in the ocean that once covered Missouri. The Mississippian and Pennsylvanian geological
periods were peak times where crinoids dominated the seascape. Crinoid stem segments are sometimes referred
to as "stone donuts" or "rock Cheerios." Complete preserved specimens are rare; stem
fragments are common in limestone exposures along the central corridor of the
state. Crinoids are related to starfish
and sand dollars. Today, there are about 600 crinoid species alive in the
ocean.

Hypsibema

State
Dinosaur: Hypsibema missouriensis (2004)Missouri designated Hypsibema missouriense as its
official state dinosaur in 2004. Hypsibema was a Late Cretaceous
period Hadrosaur or ‘duck billed’ dinosaur that lived around 75 million years
ago. It was an herbivore. Hypsibema had evolved specialized teeth to
handle the tough, fibrous vegetation of the time and its jaws are estimated to
have contained over 1,000 small teeth. Hypsibema
was first discovered in 1942 by the Chronister family while digging a cistern near
the town of Glen Allen in Bollinger County, Missouri at what later became known as the Chronister Dinosaur
Site.

Rockhounding
Resources

State-specific rockhounding books (including the books listed here as well as other books), regional rockhounding site guides, and other helpful rockhounding resources are identified - by category - in the Books & Gear section of Gator Girl Rocks with a link to the Gator Girl Rocks Amazon Store where you may easily browse selected resources and securely place an order. Your order will benefit Charity Rocks!

Division of Geology & Land SurveyThe Missouri Department of Natural
Resources includes the state’s geological survey program. The website includes very useful information regarding fossil, rock, and mineral
collecting localities as well as general geologic information.

Exhibits include Missouri fossils. The museum also
includes a life-size model of the hypsibema missouriense, a variety of dinosaur
called a Hadrosaur or "duck billed" dinosaur, with jaws that
contained more than 1,000 teeth that was discovered in Bollinger County in
1942.

Mineral MuseumMissouri University of Science & Technology –
Rolla, MissouriThe Missouri University of Science &
Technology has Missouri’s largest university mineral collection, located in
NcNutt Hall, with 3,500 specimens from around the world. The University also has a replica of Stonehenge
built from 160 tons of granite.

Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral MuseumJoplin, MissouriThe Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum
boasts one of the world's most exceptional
collections of lead and zinc ores as well as other minerals found in the
Tri-State District. This museum
interprets the geology and geochemistry of the area and illustrates mining
processes and methods used from the 1870s through the 1960s.

Golden Pioneer MuseumGolden, MissouriThe museum exhibits rocks, minerals, gems, and
fossils. The museum states that its
collection includes the largest double terminated single quartz crystal in the
world, weighing 1,250 pounds and the world's largest turquoise carving, made
from a nugget weighing 68 pounds.

Places
to Visit - Interesting Sites To See

Missouri Mines State Historical SitePark Hills, MissouriThe Missouri Mines State Historical Site features a geological and mining history museum and
interpretive center focusing on Missouri's historic lead belt.

Onondaga Cave State ParkLeasburg, MissouriOnondaga Cave is one of America's most
spectacular caves because of the great abundance and quality of its speleothems
or deposits. Stalactites, stalagmites,
rimstone dams, flowstones, draperies, soda straws and cave coral extensively
decorate the cave. Because of this,
Onondaga Cave was designated as a National Natural Landmark. Many of the deposits are still growing and a
stream meanders through the cave in an entrenched canyon.

Elephant Rocks State ParkGraniteville, Iron County, MissouriOne of the most curious geologic formations in Missouri
is found at Elephant Rocks State Park.
Giant boulders of 1.5 billion year old granite stand end-to-end like a
train of circus elephants

Rockhounding
Sites for Children & Families

MozarkiteLincoln, Benton County, MissouriResidual masses of mozarkite are found in road
ditches, creeks, and excavations

PyriteMexico area, Audrain County, MissouriClusters of small
pyrite crystals in the abandoned fire clay pits and spoil piles

GeodesKahoka - Wayland - Alexandria area, Clark County,
MissouriAlthough geodes
are known from many localities around the world, one of the most productive and
famous collecting regions is encompassed within a 50-mile radius of Keokuk,
Iowa. Geodes from this region commonly are referred to as "Keokuk
geodes." Most geodes are derived
from strata of the lower Warsaw Formation, a widespread rock unit of
Mississippian age. Muds deposited in a
shallow sea about 340 million years ago were primarily calcium carbonate and
clay, and were subsequently lithified to form the shales, shaley dolomites, and
limestones that we see today. Fresh
geodes can be dug out of exposures of the lower Warsaw Formation, where they
are concentrated in certain layers. Where
water and streamflow have eroded these strata, concentrations of geodes may
accumulate in stream channels.